By Pooya Stone
The commander of US naval forces in the Middle East said Thursday that intelligence showing a threat from Iran would not stop him from using an aircraft carrier into the Strait of Hormuz if needed.
Vice Admiral Jim Malloy, the commander of the US Navy’s Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet, did not confirm whether this meant that he would send the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group into the strategic shipping lane near Iran, through which one-fifth of the global oil supply is sent.
By Mehdi
Donald Trump has urged the mullahs in Iran to talk with him about giving up their nuclear program and said that, given the increased tensions between the two countries, he could not rule out a military confrontation.
He said: “What they should be doing is calling me up, sitting down. We can make a deal, a fair deal, we just don’t want them to have nuclear weapons – not too much to ask. And we would help put them back to great shape. They should call. If they do, we’re open to talk to them.”
Iran Focus
London, 10 May – New US sanctions on Iran’s industrial metals will severely affect two of the Middle Eastern country’s most lucrative non-energy exports, according to Iranian government data.
On Wednesday, Donald Trump signed an executive order to sanction Iran’s exports of iron, steel, aluminium, and copper. It means that anyone involved in producing those metals inside Iran will have their assets in the US frozen and that any foreign financial institutions that help Iran to produce or export those metals will be subject to sanctions.
By Jubin Katiraie
The US warned European banks, investors and businesses on Wednesday against using the special purpose vehicle (INSTEX) that Europe has created to bypass US sanctions on Iran by trading in Euros as opposed to the dollar.
Tim Morrison, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Weapons of Mass Destruction and Biodefense, said: “If you are a bank, an investor, an insurer or other business in Europe you should know that getting involved in the … Special Purpose Vehicle is a very poor business decision.”
By Pooya Stone
After the 1980-1988 war between Iran and Iraq ended, Iran needed to keep the demobilized soldiers from roaming the streets with nothing to do. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) was their answer. Khatam-al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters, the biggest contractor for government projects, was established by order of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran Focus
London, 09 May – According to the spokesperson of the Iran’ Ministry of Health and Medical Education (named Iraj Hariji), approximately 30% of Iran’s population particularly the youth, suffer from mental illnesses. Etemaad online reports of 21 million people to be exact.
According to reports, mental illness affects 23.4% of Iran’s adult population; 27.6% of whom are women and 19.4% men.
By Mehdi
Iran plans to increase fuel prices, but the decision has been met with significant opposition even from members of the Iran’s parliament who warn that the move will create further unrest.
The move has been made silently and for good reason. The people have been under significant economic pressure over the past few years and a further blow could quite simply set the powder keg atmosphere off. Purchasing power has been in significant decline in recent times and inflation has resulted in the cost of basic goods sharply increasing.
By Pooya Stone
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has made an unscheduled trip to Iraq, as US-Iran tensions rise.
Pompeo spent four hours in Baghdad yesterday, after cancelling a trip to Berlin, in order to assure the leaders that the US didn’t want anybody “interfering” in Iraq and to call on the Iraqi government to protect US troops stationed there.
By Jubin Katiraie
Non-profit and non-governmental institution, the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA), works to facilitate economic development and growth. It has recently published a report that indicates that optimism in terms of the economy has massively dropped.
Iran Focus
London, 07 May – There have been mixed reactions to the announcement by US National Security Advisor John Bolton that Washington deployed an aircraft carrier group and a bomber task force to the Middle East in order to counter the Iranian threat, but US allies in the region have been very supportive of the measure.
Arabian media reported that the US had deployed the aircraft carrier group USS Abraham Lincoln and an air strike force because of Iranian threats to “close the Strait of Hormuz” and prevent oil shipments travelling through the Gulf.
